Judges of the Special Conversion Courts recently held a four-day seminar to discuss the increasingly important issue of public conversions. Eleven such courts are in operation throughout the country, from Kiryat Shmonah in the north to Ohr Etzion near Ashkelon. The conference was attended by representatives of various bodies engaged in conversion and absorption, including the Education Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the conversion institutes, the Jewish Agency, and converts themselves.
The participants discussed the differences among the various types of requests to convert to Judaism: new immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Ethiopians, tourists, children of Jewish fathers, and more. It was made clear that each sector requires and receives a unique approach from the courts, relative to its needs.
A number of decisions were made with the goal of improving the entire conversion process, including primarily a decision to "act with loyalty to Jewish Law and with human sensitivity." It was also decided to encourage the matter of "adoptive families," who are to be full partners in the converts' Jewish-educational process. It was found that a successful conversion is largely the result of positive personal relations with religious Israeli families.
The participants discussed the differences among the various types of requests to convert to Judaism: new immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Ethiopians, tourists, children of Jewish fathers, and more. It was made clear that each sector requires and receives a unique approach from the courts, relative to its needs.
A number of decisions were made with the goal of improving the entire conversion process, including primarily a decision to "act with loyalty to Jewish Law and with human sensitivity." It was also decided to encourage the matter of "adoptive families," who are to be full partners in the converts' Jewish-educational process. It was found that a successful conversion is largely the result of positive personal relations with religious Israeli families.